Books: Indians, Cowboys, Sheepmen; Gold, Mining, Timber; Prospectors, Bandits, Boom Towns

I received a royalty check from Amazon.com a few days back, which reminded me that it had been awhile since the last one. So, it must be time to plug my books again. I’m sure regular readers of this blog appreciate that fact that I don’t have ads and don’t beat you all over the head about my books. But I do need to sell some books to at least break even on the money we’ve spent of research. Of course, I do also have a blog about the books at Sourdough Publishing, but it does not get much traffic.

So here goes (in alphabetical order):
Before the Spud: Indians, Buckaroos, and Sheepherders in Pioneer Idaho
Tells the story of how the Idaho stock raising industry developed. It begins with the "first stockmen of Idaho" – Shoshone and Nez Percés horse raisers – and carries forward to about 1910, followed by a brief survey of the state of affairs today.

Governor Shoup. National Archives.

Among the pioneer stories is that of George L. Shoup who, in one routine 1888 transaction, sold a thousand cattle from his Salmon River ranches. Two years later, he became Idaho's first state governor and then one of its first two senators.
In 1897, a jury convicted hired cowboy-gunman "Diamondfield Jack" Davis of murdering two sheepmen south of Twin Falls. Although two other "respectable" cattlemen soon confessed to the killings, Davis twice came within hours of hanging and was not pardoned until 1902.

Excerpt. The Idaho Statesman newspaper, in Boise City, has been lamenting the damage done to Idaho stockmen by the passage of nearly a quarter million cattle across their range in 1880:
Five days later, the Statesman had occasion to repeat this theme. “There is no greater curse to the stock growing interests of a country than the large bands of cattle that have been driven through this country for the past few years.”
The earlier article offered a solution. “The only practicable remedy for this, and the only hope of the afflicted is in the advent of the railroad, which will take the cattle at or near the points where they are purchased and collected.”
Fortunately, the Oregon Short Line (OSL) Railway was incorporated in Wyoming in April 1881. Because of an odd provision in the Union Pacific company charter, the OSL was created ostensibly as an independent company. However, with half its shares held by UP stockholders, its independence was merely a sham.
Track laying began in May at the Union Pacific station in Granger, Wyoming. …

Boise River Gold Country
Tells the story, in words and pictures, of the settlement of the mountainous regions drained by the Forks of the Boise River. In 1862, a party led by Moses Splawn and George Grimes found gold in the Boise Basin, a mountainous area northeast of today’s Boise. Large-scale gold mining continued in Boise River gold country for almost a century. Also, at the dawn of the Twentieth Century, logging began to increase in importance. Large-scale timber harvesting surpassed mining in value after about 1955, peaking around 1980. Today tourism and recreation are the mainstays of the economy, with small-scale mining and timber operations.

Boise Basin Gold/Quartz

Excerpt.
Big companies were not the only people seeking gold during the Depression. Louie LeRoy Packer was born in Ola, Idaho, a tiny hamlet 20-25 miles north of Emmett, Idaho. A skilled carpenter and mechanic, he eventually opened an automobile service and repair station in Middleton. …
By the summer of 1935, Packer had a claim on Spanish Fork, about a mile and a half north of Idaho City. They started with just the tent on the claim, but later built a comfortable cabin. Early on, Louie acquired a partner
to help work his holdings
Soon, Packer began to improve his claim, rebuilding an abandoned flume system to deliver more water. Eventually, he had a large enough flow to work a hydraulic giant. Louie also prospected for quartz claims and after several years had properties the family considered worth $150 thousand dollars.

Idaho: Year One, An Idaho Sesquicentennial History
On March 4, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation that created the Territory of Idaho, a geographical monstrosity roughly the size of Texas and Illinois combined.

President Lincoln. Library of Congress.

Newspapers in the East went a week before they could published details (often erroneous) about the new Territory. One fact stood out: Idaho had Gold! and perhaps a lot of it. But the Civil War raged and the Territorial birth had to share headlines. Interest eventually centered a some crucial questions: Where, exactly, could one find gold? Guidebooks say to be alert and have our guns ready: Are the Indians really that dangerous? Using contemporary published articles and letters from the gold camps, Idaho: Year One, captures the day-by-day excitement and uncertainty as hopeful prospectors poured into the area.

Excerpt.
August 3 [1863]
The Oregonian reported, “Our merchants are constantly receiving letters from their correspondents at Boise and at other trading points in the mines, full of complaints because of the impossibility of safely sending out the immense amounts of dust now accumulated.”
Unfortunately, dangers lurked along every trail. The newspaper said, “On account of the enormous expense of maintaining Expresses of sufficient strength to be prepared to resist the possible attacks of highwaymen and Indians, none now transport treasure, except in very small sums, and parties coming out are always unwilling to bring or have in charge any more than belongs to them.”
One miner braved the trails by himself and managed to slip through. From him, The Oregonian heard that, “If he had taken all that he was begged to bring, he should have had over a million dollars worth, and from others we get similar statements.”

Besides the links at the Sourdough Publishing web site, the books are also available directly from Amazon.com:
Before the Spud
Boise River Gold County
Idaho: Year One

Book Signing at Centerville Sesquicentennial ... and More

The first of our two Sesquicentennial booking signings [blog, Aug 27] went very well. The only slight downside was the weather – temperatures in the high 90s. Thus, because of that heat, my wife Caroline stayed around our hotel room with our dogs (Miniature Schnauzers).

Skip Myers and I first set up our table at the Centerville Fire Station and Community Center. Sales got off to a slow start, so I put up some signs and handed out brochures. Luckily, once people got the message, we had a steady stream come by.

The scheduled sesquicentennial program started a bit after noon, and included some remarks by Idaho’s Lieutenant Governor, Brad Little. After those “festivities,” we moved the table over to the new Interpretive Center. The Center is located in the building that once housed the New Centerville railway station.

Book Signing Setup at Interpretive Center

Fewer visitors came to the Center, but the organizers have made a good start on what could become a very nice period museum. For the day, we sold and signed a couple dozen copies of Boise River Gold Country, which we considered not bad.

Sunday Adventure
On Sunday, Caroline and I visited the Boise Basin together. After a stop in Idaho City, we drove to the Interpretative Center, and then on to view the Station where the Sesquicentennial had kicked off on Saturday. If anything, it was even hotter on Sunday, so we could not leave our dogs locked in the car for any longer hikes.

View from Near Grimes Pass

From there, we continued on the same road through Pioneerville. We intended to go all the way to Grimes Pass, where we could see the renovated George Grimes monument. However, we discovered that the turn onto the pass is rather tight, and we missed the small area where we might have parked. Before we quite knew it, we were headed downhill. We did get a good look from the top, but we rather assumed we could quickly go back up.

That, unfortunately, was not the case. Although we did find some slightly wider sections, there was no place where a car could safely turn around. In fact, most of the road (by far) was too narrow for two cars to pass. We did meet one motorcycle coming up, and that was not too bad.

Grimes Pass Road

By the time we passed the motorcycle, we had decided to go on down -- even if we had found a place where turning around was possible. Neither of us is particularly fond of narrow roads with big drop-offs, so we simply had no desire to go back up.

Road View. Note how close the road edge is (bottom) ... we're stopped right in the middle.

 Anyway, we’re not sure how long the white-knuckle descent took, but we finally made it. Luckily, we were down to a mostly wider stretch when we met a car coming up. We stopped to chat (and warn them), but the driver said he had been hunting the area for years ... and knew all about it. The road, by the way, drops over a thousand feet in a bit under 2 miles -- over a 10% grade.

Grimes Pass Road from Below

Heading out, we followed the Payette River, where we saw an almost uncountable number of people -- on rafts, kayaks, and inner tubes -- floating the rapids. Beautiful white water, but incredibly crowded. (Understandable, given the hot weather.)

Sesquicentennial Signings in the Boise Basin

In August 1862, George Grimes and Moses Splawn led a party of prospectors into the Boise Basin, 25-30 miles northeast of today’s Boise. They soon found gold at the spot that became Centerville, and set off a gold rush into the region. Before the year was out, numerous gold camps sprang up. Towns in the Basin are now set to celebrate the Sesquicentennial of that event.

Opening events will take place on the morning of Saturday, August 28th, in Centerville. For a look at the schedule, visit the Boise Basin Boosters web site

Book Signings
Skip and I plan to be at the opening events in Centerville to sign copies of Boise River Gold Country. Our book, of course, covers more that the 150 years of the history of that region. For more information and the Table of Contents, follow the link to my earlier post about the book.

We definitely plan to be in Centerville, at or near the Community Center, starting around 10:00 A.M. on the 28th. However, our overall arrangements are somewhat open-ended because – as some of you may know – Centerville does not have a lot in the way of business infrastructure.

Watch for our signs.
Also, if we have a lull, I will be wandering around handing out brochures about the book to those who might be interested.

Fixing Flat, Road into Idaho City, ca 1923.

Matters get a bit more complicated on the following Saturday, August 4th, for the closing ceremonies. We plan to spend a couple hours at Donna’s Place in Idaho City (200 Main Street), starting about 9:00 in the morning. We will then relocate to Donna’s Place in Placerville (110 East Granite) about 1 P.M. We will stay there, basically, as long as there are people who want to buy books and have them signed.

We are also trying to set up additional book signings during the week. If you’re interested, contact me through Sourdough Publishing: 208-524-3868 or e-mail Sourdough(at)earthlink.net

Sesquicentennial Events
The sesquicentennial celebration has a “plethora” (a bunch) of neat events: pancake breakfasts, aerial flyover, gold panning, music and dancing, living history re-enactments, carnival games, tours of historical sites, and more. (You can even listen to remarks by “legislative dignitaries,” if you so desire.) Driving and walking tours will continue throughout the week. We plan to be in and out all the time, and hope to see you there.

New Happenings for Boise River Gold Country: Book-Signings Scheduled

Old-Timer Panning for Gold.
Idaho State Historical Society.

I have updated my earlier blog article about the book with this information, but I'll repeat the news here: Boise River Gold Country is now available from Barnes & Noble and other online booksellers. In general, that means you can go into a local "bricks and mortar" bookstore and order it. (For more details about the book itself, visit that article, or click on the cover photo on the left.)

At the end of this month, I will be attending the Jackson Hole Writers Conference. They have scheduled a general book signing on the evening of June 30. There, you can buy the book and I will sign it. However, if you chose to order the book online (use the CreateSpace store – I get a bigger royalty☺) and it's delivered in time, I'll be happy to sign it any time you can catch me at the conference. If you can't be there for the signing, see me earlier and I can sell and sign one directly. On the advice of many other published authors, I always carry a supply with me. (You will need to go to Idaho City, if you'd like Skip Myers to sign it also. The book was his idea.)

Now that Barnes & Noble can order the book for their customers, they have agreed to host a book signing at their store in the Grand Teton Mall here in Idaho Falls. The date is now set as Saturday, July 7. The B&N outreach person has ordered posters to promote the event and plans to list it on our newspaper's "community bulletin board" and with other local media. We will start the signings at noon and continue at least two hours ... and as long as there's interest. (Well, out to closing time anyway.)

 At some point, we hope to do similar signings at the B&N stores in Twin Falls and Boise, but that is just a notion right now.

The next book signing in the Boise Basin will be during their overall Gold Discovery Sesquicentennial Celebration, July 28 - August 4. Although they have devised an overall schedule, some of the details still seem to be "up in the air."

We hope to have one book signing event scheduled around the Opening Ceremonies on July 28 in Centerville. Then we would probably have another toward the end of the week, in Idaho City.

Preview Available
Amazon.com now has a preview of Boise Basin Gold Country available with their listing. When you click on the "Look Inside" tag, it shows the Copyright page, the Table of Contents, a couple pages of the preface, all of Chapter One, and then the photo credits and references.

Boise River Gold Country. Book Signing Successful

Old-Timer Panning for Gold.
Idaho State Historical Society.

(Follow-up to book signing "report.")

Those who follow the blog regularly may recall that on Monday, April 23rd, I sat in the living room and wondered, “What the heck am I going to do with one hundred copies of my book?”

On Sunday afternoon (April 29th), I looked at four meager copies and wondered, “Gee, how many more should I order?”

As you can tell from the numbers, the book signing in Idaho City -- at Donna’s Place -- went far better than I could have ever hoped. THANK YOU! to all of those who showed up to buy books and have them signed. There for awhile Skip Myers and I had a kind of “assembly line” going where we’d sign a copy and then swap so the other could finish.

Honestly, I’m not exactly sure how many we signed. At the end of the day, Skip wrote a check to me for 85 books. Perhaps 10-15 of those were unsigned copies held for future sales. (We sent two unsigned copies to the Placerville store early that morning.) Thanks to "Mindy" and Skip, I now have some photos taken during the event. Here are two samples:

Skip in Suspenders, Me in the Hat, Plus Two Happy Buyers

One of Several People Who Bought Two Copies

We certainly expect to do more signings, but right now the only “for sure” joint event is the one planned for Memorial Day weekend (May 26-28) at Donna’s Place in Idaho City. I’ll let you know about other events as our plans “gel.”

(For more information about the book, go to the previous book blog, which includes the Table of Contents, or click on the cover image on the left.)

Boise River Gold Country Information

As mentioned earlier, Boise River Gold Country is now available for purchase online at its dedicated CreateSpace eStore. (It looks like you might be able use an existing amazon.com account at the eStore, but I'm not sure about that.) You can also order the book from Amazon and other online booksellers, such as Barnes & Noble. (If you prefer not to order online, local "bricks and mortar" bookstores will order it for you, but those stores will generally not stock ready-to-buy copies.)

Idaho Gold Dredge, ca 1912. H.T. French (see References Page).

The book is being produced under the imprint of Sourdough Publishing, Idaho Falls, Idaho, with the eStore and Amazon handling retail production and distribution. We will consider bulk orders at special discounts for educational purposes, fund-raising, or corporate gifts. Museums, historical associations, and schools are particularly encouraged to apply. Contact me through Sourdough Publishing or at the blog e-mail address.

The book tells the story, in words and pictures, of the settlement of the mountainous regions drained by the Forks of the Boise River. It all began in 1862, so 2012 is the 150th anniversary of the first towns in the area. That looming milestone prompted Idaho City merchant Skip Myers to ask me to write a new history of the region. (The few existing books on the topic were all out of print.) Boise River Gold Country is the result.

On every page, from the Introduction (“Setting the Scene”) through all the chapters, the book contains at least one image – generally historic photographs. Overall, I used over two hundred photos to supplement and illustrate the textual material. I have included a couple comparable samples here. These are images I was unable to work into the story.

Boise Basin Gold. Found ca 2009

Prospectors first discovered Idaho gold in late 1860, on the tributaries of the Clearwater River in North Idaho. Hordes of miners poured into the region. However, two years later, a party led by Moses Splawn and George Grimes found gold in the Boise Basin, a mountainous area northeast of today’s Boise. These fields proved far more extensive than the earlier finds.

Thus, it was Boise River gold that “gave legs” to the creation of Idaho Territory. The first Territorial census, in September 1863, counted nearly five times as many people in the Basin as in the northern camps and towns. A year later, that imbalance had increased to nearly seven to one. Large-scale gold mining continued in Boise River gold country for almost a century. Also, at the dawn of the Twentieth Century, logging began to increase in importance. Large-scale timber harvesting surpassed mining in value after about 1955, peaking around 1980.

Boise River Gold Country
Table of Contents

Setting the Scene	i
Chapter One: Before the Golden Age	1
Chapter Two: Gold Rush Creates Idaho	7
Chapter Three: Cooperative Mining Replaces the Sourdough	23
Chapter Four: Placer Mining Fades, Lode Mining Grows	38
Chapter Five: Dredging and Hardrock Mining	58
Chapter Six: Big Timber Takes an Interest	77
Chapter Seven: Mining Revisited	96
Chapter Eight: Recreation and Tourism	105
Chapter Nine: World War, and Afterwards	119
Chapter Ten: Identity TBD	131
Image Sources	138
Bibliography	141

Fixing a Flat on Road into Idaho City.